Emergency generator

I am thinking of getting a portable generator. We seem to have power failures 2-3 times a year. I would hate to lose my freezer. Wife sees one on her
QVC shopping channel. 4,000starting amps, 3,300 running amps. The price is 700.00 Made in China for sure. I know you people back east know more about
generators than we do on the west coast. anyone have any knowledge about the China generators? I have a miller welder that puts out 110v power, but have
no idea of the power it puts out. Maybe that will be better?. Thanks, Stan

I would just stick with your welder, provided that the 110v that comes out is AC.

I think that would be watts, not amps. Big difference. 3000 watts would keep a couple lights and the refrigerator on.

The welder is AC. It runs a grinder fine. I just don't know if it will run a freezer, and a couple refrigerators. Stan

Stan,
Look at your welder for a circuit breaker.
That should give you a clue of its output.

I have a 3500 watt Champion, a honda clone.
It's an RV generator, meaning all 3500 watts come out one RV outlet. Buy an adapter for a single 120v out.

Normally a 3500 watt would split the output into two 1750 watts output.

Buy an RV generator.

Buy it locally, even if made in China.
If it should not work during the warranty period it will be much easier to rectify.

$700 is no bargain.

(quoted from post at 19:23:02 09/08/22) I am thinking of getting a portable generator. We seem to have power failures 2-3 times a year. I would hate to lose my freezer. Wife sees one on her
QVC shopping channel. 4,000starting amps, 3,300 running amps. The price is 700.00 Made in China for sure. I know you people back east know more about
generators than we do on the west coast. anyone have any knowledge about the China generators? I have a miller welder that puts out 110v power, but have
no idea of the power it puts out. Maybe that will be better?. Thanks, Stan

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VC would be the last place I would go for a generator.

Take the serial and model numbers to your local Miller dealer, and they should be able to look it up for you, or will know from the model.

I have 2 champion RV 3500 w.
If you can't find one locally I would see what Amazon or Walmart online has and their return policy.
I bought an AC for Walmart online.
It came damaged.
Easy to return to local store.
I showed them I purchased it on my smartphone.
Zero hastle.

Two different champion models. Around $500 for the expense one with wheels and electric starter.

My Miller 2E, 3500 watts runs furnace, freezer and refrigerator and a light or two. Does it at 1800 rpm pretty quietly.

I had a 14 hp Miller Roughneck, that thing was a real brute, but I dont remember the out put . What not rig up a couple cords, plug in everything you want to run , and see what it does? Worst it can do is throw the breaker.

Don't scrimp on it!!! That price seems a bit too high, also, for that size unit.

At the risk of waking up all of the naysayers on this board, I'll mention I have a Generac 10KW peak, 8KW run. I bought it at Menard's for about $900. Before I bought it, a friend who works for a local electrical company and I went through our house and estimated it would take 6KW to run most everything in the house. I've had it running with everything in the house on except the A/C and the clothes dryer and nary a whimper out of it. I've had it 7 years, and the only problem is the battery went kaput last year.

I think the biggest mistake people make is they try to save a few bucks and buy too small a unit. They say they'll only have maybe a couple of lights on and run the furnace occasionally. Then they add a few more things, wind up running the generator close to its peak instead of the run wattage, and get upset when they have premature failures with it.

Do yourself a favor, too, and have an electrician install a proper three way switch.

I use extension cords to power my refrigerators, microwave and well. It's temporary and only used for a short time. I haven't used my portable generator in 2 years.

I agree 6500 will run the average house, minus the AC & elect. ovens. If you want 'new', go to Harbor Freight.

My 6500 Harbor Freight got us thru the Blizzard of '21 in fine form. I start it up once a month or so. Always starts on the 1st or 2ed pull. Also handy for pulling around the kingdome for using the electric pole saw or chain saw or other electrical device.

I agree with others buy local and stay away from QVC. Go bigger than you need and buy the best one you can afford. I have a PTO generator that will run my whole house with ease, but that's a whole nother animal. I agree get the transfer switch wired to your electric service panel in your house.

Whatever you buy be sure to run it one a month to keep if limbered up. A 220 volt out put makes it easier to hook up. You'll need to run things you don't think of so if it's wired to the 220 volts you can run anything. Just not all at the same time. Think of a weather emergency or other disaster. Maybe you'd want to listen to the radio or watch the television. Charge your cell phone or tablet. Neither of these draw a lot of power but are necessary. With 220 volt you won't be hunting around in the dark for an outlet that works. Also, generators give you peace of mind knowing you can weather any storm.
Dave

just go to harbor freight and buy a predator it's the same as a champion and any of the other China knock offs and a lot cheaper and they run forever 7

I just bought a Duromax from Ontario, CA.
Free shipping to SC.
6500 watts for $899.
Made in USA.

My advice is to buy a propane/gasoline generator of appropriate size that is electric start and plan to run it on propane. Make a list of all appliances and power requirements that you want to operate and take it to a qualified dealer. Invest in the three way switch whether or not you have the generator connected at all times. At 74, I don't want to pull a recoil start or fight with draining fuel tanks and carburetor when the power outage is over.

Didn't some of those older welder/generators put out 120v DC? I seems like we had one when I worked construction, DC 120v will run drill motors and grinders just fine, anything with brushes. That's why they're called universal motors, right? Check the output with a meter, that will tell you if it's AC or DC. If it's AC, it's nice to have a Kill-A-Watt to get the speed set for the correct HZ. As far as output, there must be a tag someplace with some information on it. If not, start loading it up, use electric heaters, of heat guns, appliances with a known wattage. If it's DC only, I don't think you should try to run a fridge or freezer on it.

The Lincoln SA-200 welder that I had put out 120 volt D. C. power and the only things it would run were tools with unversal AC/DC motors and marked so on the name plates. I destroyed our refrigerator before I learned that expensive lesson.

I had a 4500 watt portable for years. Always drained the carb after use and used non-ethanol gas. Never a problem starting it. Ran everything with heavy extension cords. After about 30 years we replaced it with a 12kw permanent standby unit. So much nicer, power goes out, generator starts. Runs on propane from my furnace tank, no fuel worries. Not cheap, but one of our better moves.

Richard, does yours have electric start or is it rope pull? Dont remember if you mentioned one or the other?

I have got by with 3K watts it was enoufh to have lights, fans and keep the refrigerator going.

I worked my way to bigger 12.5 surge 8k continuous. I can run coffee pots micro waves and a few things in my shop. I can about live a normal life other than no AC.

The P.I.T.A is fuel I converted mine to natural gas as I already have it. When a hurricane is predicted to end life on the east coast you will need 100 gals. Who wants to store 100 gal of gas if the event is a no show. As the last event was headed our way gas stations were running out of fuel they would not take a credit card. Those that had gas put a limit on what you could buy.

Hurricane Fran we were out of power for 11 days I had a old onan gen on my camper. My sister lived beside me I kept her stuff going also. During the day I would drive the camper to mom's she would have it for the day. Her neighbor talked me/her into running her freezer a few hours a day.

The moral of the story we all lost out frozen food a gen is for YOU, you cannot share it ( keep that in mind) that's why I brought two nice gen sets. I also learned when folks find out you have a good stock of fuel they will ask you for some then all run out of fuel.

Make sure you have plenty of fuel to keep the grill going to cook all the food thawing out in the freezer : )

(quoted from post at 13:23:02 09/08/22) I am thinking of getting a portable generator. We seem to have power failures 2-3 times a year. I would hate to lose my freezer. Wife sees one on her QVC shopping channel. 4,000starting amps, 3,300 running amps. The price is 700.00 Made in China for sure. I know you people back east know more about generators than we do on the west coast. anyone have any knowledge about the China generators? I have a miller welder that puts out 110v power, but have no idea of the power it puts out. Maybe that will be better?. Thanks, Stan

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I've been dealing with this for a while. You ain't seen nothing yet. So here's my two cents. If you want a generator that will run your refrigeration, freezer and fridge, plus some led lights, buy a Honda 2200i. Costs $1,200 (2x more than the other brands) but it's reliable power that will run when you need it. Use fuel without alcohol, make it yourself or buy engineered fuel. She'll always fire up when you need her. The next problem is what side of the bus is your refrigeration wired to. The Honda is only 120v. If your fridge is wired to one leg of your panel and the freezer to the other, you're going to have to power one leg then the other. Better to switch things around in your panel so you can send 120v to one leg of your panel to power everything that needs power. I like the 2200i Companion generator. Has one duplex outlet and one 30A twist lock outlet. Use the 30A twist lock outlet and build a patch cord from the generator to an input box wired to your electrical panel. This will give you safe power to the house.

If you want to spend more money, get a Honda inverter generator that supplies 240v and wire it to your panel. This way both legs in your panel are energized and you will have all the power you need, as long as you're not trying to fire up an A/C compressor.

After that, the price goes up. This isn't answering your question, but reliable gas generators like Winco that will power your 4-5 ton A/C start at $6K. Diesels are twice as much. Check out ML Engine in LA if you want a diesel that supplies 12-20KW and runs like a Swiss watch. There's many others but ML builds a great product that's affordable.

Now to digress. I have a CAT 12000W ($3K) generator that powers A/C on gasoline. Bought it to keep my parents (alive) A/C running. I love the thing (a superior design), but have to admit it's probably a POS. CAT abandoned it after 2 years and there's limited parts/limited service available. How can that be you ask? Because they're CAT and we're not. Would have been better off with a Champion, but I didn't know better. Now looking to replace it with a $6K Winco. Why you ask, because I'm an idiot. Had I not bought the CAT to keep my parents alive, I would have made a better decision. All water under the bridge now as they've passed, and either I keep it or replace it. Will be making that decision soon. The reason for the story is this, buy the best you can afford once, don't make the mistake I made. So why Winco, because Champion is less than half the price, has great customer service as far as I can tell, but it's a consumer product made to run a few hours a year and the Winco is made to run 8 hrs a day for years on end. My GF calls me Cheapich, and there's some truth to that, but I like nice reliable toys and I'm getting too old to work on something in the dark.

So, to answer your question, buy an inverter Honda that will supply the power you need. If you need more than 7KW for more than a day or two at a time, buy a Winco gas. If you need more than 7KW for a longer period of time, buy a diesel. Check out ML Engine in Louisiana. The one I bought runs like a Swiss watch, panders to the Cheapich theory of fuel consumption, and can be configured so you get both 3Ph and 1Ph out of the same generator end. Sorry for the long winded explanation, but if it's no value to you, someone else may find some value.

Thats another advantage to using a welder. You can get the same Hz at 1800 vs a generator running at 3600. Less fuel , less noise.

(quoted from post at 19:18:52 09/08/22) Thats another advantage to using a welder. You can get the same Hz at 1800 vs a generator running at 3600. Less fuel , less noise.

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Gas power runs at 3600. Diesel at both 1800 and 3600.

First, it is probably 4000 starting watts and 3300 running watts., not amps. Enough to run a freezer and a refrigerator, a few lights, and maybe a TV. But not much else. Remember, the generator has to be large enough to start the compressor motor in the refrigerator, not just run it. Second, cheap generators tend to be loud. Putting it behind a wall or something will help. Third, parts. I have a 5500 watt with a Briggs engine, so I can get parts for the motor. Fourth, start it regularly and watch your gas. Ethanol is rough on small engines with plastic carburetors. An alternative that is much more expensive but is also a lot more convenient, contact an electrician who installs whole house generators and get a quote. What they install will start automatically, they will size it to cover air conditioning and heat, it will test itself regularly, and they are typically natural gas or propane. It will take a couple of five gallon cans of gas a day to keep it running. Another possibility is a tractor PTO generator, you know what your tractor engine is like.

Think about everything you want to run with a generator and then figure the total watts required and whether you need 120 or 120 and 240. Then determine if you want to run extension cords or have it hardwired. Then post again for suggestions.

I ended up with a 7000 watt Honda and a manual transfer switch. I can t run everything, but i can run what I need (well pump, heat, hot water, microwave, 2 refrigerators, lights, tv, internet). It uses gasoline, but I run it quarterly and change out the gas once a year if it hasn t been used.

Richard- was just wondering if yours is electric start. Ive seen previous posts about it. I having trouble pull starting engines due to my health. Thanks. Wingnut

If you want to run your central air conditioner, you probably need something that can put out around 6000 watts at 240 volts. That's still not adequate to run an electric range, but it will power most of your house. Maybe go bigger if you have an electric water heater. Generators of this size are pretty heavy and if you want to go any bigger you should consider a stationary unit. Either way, a 240 volt generator needs a transfer switch to power the whole house. A whole-house transfer switch like the <a href=http://www.reliancecontrols.com/ProductDetail.aspx?TWB2003DR>Reliance Controls TWB2003DR</a> replaces your existing main disconnect (if you have one) and allows you to run the whole house rather than just some circuits.

At the other extreme, you can use a 120 volt generator to run just a few critical appliances, such as your refrigerator. Running extension cords all over the place is aggravating, but it's a fairly cheap solution.

Consider an inverter generator if you have close-by neighbors. They're much quieter than conventional generators.

Both.

Both electric and pull start.

I went with portable generators for many years. I used a 6500w unit from Harbor Freight. Easily started and never had a problem. However, the problem was digging it out of storage, transporting it to the house with half a dozen extension cords and cans of gasoline.....a real PIA. but failures were seldom then. Had enough power to run whatever I felt like hooking up to an extension cord....I have gas dryer, kitchen stove, and hot water heater.....ACs are window units, easily plugged in to ex. cord.

In 2014 I sold my herd and had a pocket full of cash. Outages were getting more frequent and longer lasting. Bought a Generac 11kw permanent unit and hooked a 500 gallon propane tank to it.........aaaaah life is good. I just now had my first failure and the software indicates that I have a battery problem. Will be working on that this AM.

Call me if you need to talk generators. Been a gen tech since 1969.

1-903-536-2816

Add a microwave oven and refrigerator onto your list of things to keep powered, if you are on a well water system add the well pump too.

Look into the PG&E rebate program, they will give you $300-500 off on certain generators. I don't have the url but you can find it on the web. I have a 7000 watt Champion. It will run 2 pumps all refrigerators and freezer and all lights in the house. It will run electric water heater too but I turn it off sometimes. It is electric start or pull start , can be set up for propane. You can set up your panel with an extra breaker and interlock system. Much cheaper than a transfer switch. Nothing wrong with a HF Predator, We have one at a rental house. Your welder may be adequate, check wattage rating.

Well I Googled my problem and the starting circuit was the culprit. Main attraction was the battery. Google said don't rely on the static DC voltage. Load test it.

So I tested the static voltage and it was 13V....fair enough. Put my HF Battery Load tester on the disconnected battery and I didn't get to 25 amps when the voltage went to essential zero.

Got a new battery, cleaned all the terminals, did the installation, cleared the codes and punched the start button. Hummed like a Singer Sewing Machine. Problem solved.

Thanks for letting us know the solution to the issue. Good to have a working generator now-a-days. zuhnc

Loading a small portable consumer grade generator continuously is not a good idea . For example 3,300 watts is on the ragged edge and operating hot . The manufacture builds to minimum specs .
As previously stated , check if the output is AC or DC from the welder . A Harbour Freight Gen of 6500W or more is recommended .
Transfer switch , interlocked breaker panel , extension cords or a double male suicide cord ?

I made a double male suicide cord once and I forget the reason.....had to do with portable standby power and extension cords. I
started the using it process and it didn't take me but a minute or two to throw it in the trash.........before I killed myself!

(quoted from post at 07:31:57 09/11/22) I made a double male suicide cord once and I forget the reason.....had to do with portable standby power and extension cords. I
started the using it process and it didn't take me but a minute or two to throw it in the trash.........before I killed myself!

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Maybe someone can help me out. I've always used a double male in some configuration to power a home (that's not hardwired) with a portable generator. Yes, I understand the risk, so I mitigate it when I can. I've never seen a portable genset with a female tap, so that requires at least one male end on the cord. I like to use a twistlock tap because I feel it's more secure. On the house end, either you use another male, or you tap into a male outlet on the house. Either way, you're using two males. I use a California Style (CS) plug on the cord that provides some shielding protection, but it still requires caution. There is no free ride or exception for stupidity. If I leave the breakers open on the genset and panel until everything is hooked up, that's about the best I can do to avoid injury. I reverse the procedure when switching back to grid power.

If someone knows of another way to hook up a portable generator to a residential panel other than hard tap, I'd appreciate some help. NEMA numbers for the connectors if you know them.

I own and use a number of different gens. I've also lived off grid, and know what that's all about, so here's some advice from an actual user of gens.

1. Emergency use, most people actual over-buy, not under buy. 3500 starting watts, and 3300 running watts will put out a continuous 26 amps at 120VAC. This will run both the washing machine, fridge, medium freezer, and a hair dryer all at once(but it's a big load).

2. Inverter generators are much more efficient for small loads. They have an auto mode which will throttle way down when only using lights and the TV and fridge.

3. Do, for certain get dual fuel gasoline and propane. Use propane as much as possible. The insides of the engine will remain spotless and you never, ever have to worry about stale gas. Once run on propane, if you run out can run it on gas for a time until you get another bottle of propane. With an inverter gen, a 20Lb bottle will run for nearly 24 hours, maybe a bit less.

4. Start it once per quarter and put a load on it for 20 min. If you don't load the gen, the regulator will sink all the power internally.

5. Get one with wheels and a handle. You'll want to move it around sometimes, and they are heavy enough to use a hand cart or wheels.

As far as mfg, the electronics package comes from 1 of 2 different mfgs, both are in China. The engines are also sourced from 1 of 2 mfgs in China, so the name on the mfg plate is pretty unimportant. A Honda 3500i will be triple the cost of the various Chinese ones, but it will last forever, and load down without complaint. I have one Honda inverter and I use that the most for utility, but it doesn't have propane fuel. I have a Champion duel fuel unit for the off grid cabin and it will run a large window AC, along with everything we need.

We are talking all 120VAC here, no 240VAC. A big standby 240VAC is a whole different discussion. If you want to plug in the whole house with a standby gen and not use extension cords, and power strips, talk to an electrician about standby wiring to protect the grid from feed forward. He will provide an isolation switch.

(quoted from post at 17:52:15 09/11/22)

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I bought one of those on Amazon believing from the description that one of the three pieces in the kit would fit my panel. Unfortunately, none do. I have a main made up of 4 50A breakers ganged together in the center of the buss and will have to make a lock out that fits.

(quoted from post at 17:01:57 09/11/22)

2. Inverter generators are much more efficient for small loads. They have an auto mode which will throttle way down when only using lights and the TV and fridge.

3. Do, for certain get dual fuel gasoline and propane. Use propane as much as possible. The insides of the engine will remain spotless and you never, ever have to worry about stale gas. Once run on propane, if you run out can run it on gas for a time until you get another bottle of propane. With an inverter gen, a 20Lb bottle will run for nearly 24 hours, maybe a bit less.

4. Start it once per quarter and put a load on it for 20 min. If you don't load the gen, the regulator will sink all the power internally.

A Honda 3500i will be triple the cost of the various Chinese ones, but it will last forever, and load down without complaint.

We are talking all 120VAC here, no 240VAC. A big standby 240VAC is a whole different discussion. If you want to plug in the whole house with a standby gen and not use extension cords, and power strips, talk to an electrician about standby wiring to protect the grid from feed forward. He will provide an isolation switch.

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I have two Honda 2200i-s. Have yet to parallel them as one will easily run a fridge and some lights. Two winters ago my folks' power went out, it was raining hard and getting cold. They needed heat and I didn't have time to dig out something bigger, so I hooked up one 2200i to their panel and hit the jackpot. The furnace, TV and the right lights were all on the same buss. She ran at least 7 hours with eco mode disabled and never complained. I was really impressed with that little Honda.

I thought about converting a 6KW to NG and LP ten years ago. The local small engine shop talked me out of it. Claimed that as pressure dropped in the LP tank, I'd have to adjust the regulator to keep enough fuel flowing to the genset to make power. I was going to tap into the NG line and eventually set a LP tank that could be used if the NG failed, the benefit to LP being it doesn't go bad. Now with LI batteries coming of age, I'm thinking I might be better off waiting for the price of batteries to come down and put in a solar system with battery backup. If I didn't have 8,000 gallons of diesel at the office three miles away, I'd have had to do something by now. That's the problem with easy living. There's no incentive to take the path least traveled.

I lost you when you said, "load the generator or the regulator will sink all the power internally." Please explain. The problem with having toys that don't get used is they end up like this.

I'm sold on Honda engines. Makes working on them easier (for me) as I do so infrequently and having the same basic engine powering everything makes it easier to keep them running. I don't care about the 3x cost. Just want them to run when I want them to run.

All very good information EXCEPT item #4. No generator "sinks" power internally. How can you sink internally 10KW worth of power? Sinking internally means the generator is running loaded ALL the time. The regulator only provides the proper output voltage, load or no load, and does nothing else.
Your electric company produces power. If power usage goes down, the POCO doesn't "sink" the excess - it is just available, but not used.
30 minutes under at least 1/2 load would get the engine hot enough to drive moisture from the oil, and run fresh fuel through the carburetor. If running on LPG (highly recommended), no carburetor to gum up, and the oil and engine components remain a lot cleaner, as stated.
As to running on LPG, if your tank is large enough, it will gain enough heat to vaporize the liquid. The primary and demand regulator control fuel flow, not the pressure in the tank. It is possible, though, to have too small a tank running too large a generator. Under those conditions, not enough heat enters the liquid to vaporize, and internal pressure will drop. Eventually the tank will freeze, and there will be no pressure to run the generator. Once the tank gains enough heat to unfreeze, pressure will return. But, continued uperation will cause the cycle to start again. Numerous documents on the web explaining how LPG vaproizes and how the regulators work to suply the generator with proper fuel quantity.
I do admire someone who lives off grid (and has enough funds to run a generator to power everything). It would be solar and no generator for me, however.
The proper term is "backfeeding" That is connecting the generator directly to your panel, with no isolation means, and frying the lineman trying to restore your power. As stated DO consult a qualified electrician and your Authority Having Jurisdiction for proper installation of said UL-listed isolation device.
(I have been working on and repairing all sorts of generators and automatic/manual transfer switches for longer than I care to remember; at least since 1976. BUT, I am NOT a licensed electrician, so YMMV.)

This post was edited by zuhnc on 09/11/2022 at 09:38 pm.

Don't believe anyone that tells you the Hondas never go bad. They are just as susceptible to old/bad fuel and neglect as any brand. I know of at least half a dozen eu2000i's locally that have needed carb work over the years, or have worn out. They are quite popular with people that camp.

Why you would wire a little Honda into a leg of your main panel is beyond me. Then you have to run around the house shutting off lights and appliances on that leg because you're going to instantly overload that poor little generator. Run extension cords.

(quoted from post at 06:13:42 09/12/22) Don't believe anyone that tells you the Hondas never go bad. They are just as susceptible to old/bad fuel and neglect as any brand. I know of at least half a dozen eu2000i's locally that have needed carb work over the years, or have worn out. They are quite popular with people that camp.

Why you would wire a little Honda into a leg of your main panel is beyond me. Then you have to run around the house shutting off lights and appliances on that leg because you're going to instantly overload that poor little generator. Run extension cords.

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I avoid carb problems by using fuel that contains no alcohol and drain the carb after use. Using a small generator to power a fridge, PC and light doesn't seem to overload it. We have a number of 3-4 hour outages, sometimes 6, caused by vehicles taking out poles. Sometimes the utility restores power early and the small generator works better in anticipation of this. I prefer to connect to my panel and switch off all the circuits I don't want to feed. Works best for me at my residence. I ran extension cords at my GF's residence last week because I didn't want to deal with her marginal wiring. Ran just enough 12ga cord to get the job done. Had a similar outage at my place and I set up the 12KW. It needed a work out and I left it hooked up a couple of days. I will check the demand on the Honda to make sure it doesn't cause damage.

(quoted from post at 21:21:52 09/11/22) All very good information EXCEPT item #4. No generator "sinks" power internally. How can you sink internally 10KW worth of power? Sinking internally means the generator is running loaded ALL the time. The regulator only provides the proper output voltage, load or no load, and does nothing else.
Your electric company produces power. If power usage goes down, the POCO doesn't "sink" the excess - it is just available, but not used.
30 minutes under at least 1/2 load would get the engine hot enough to drive moisture from the oil, and run fresh fuel through the carburetor. If running on LPG (highly recommended), no carburetor to gum up, and the oil and engine components remain a lot cleaner, as stated.
As to running on LPG, if your tank is large enough, it will gain enough heat to vaporize the liquid. The primary and demand regulator control fuel flow, not the pressure in the tank. It is possible, though, to have too small a tank running too large a generator. Under those conditions, not enough heat enters the liquid to vaporize, and internal pressure will drop. Eventually the tank will freeze, and there will be no pressure to run the generator. Once the tank gains enough heat to unfreeze, pressure will return. But, continued uperation will cause the cycle to start again. Numerous documents on the web explaining how LPG vaproizes and how the regulators work to suply the generator with proper fuel quantity.
I do admire someone who lives off grid (and has enough funds to run a generator to power everything). It would be solar and no generator for me, however.
The proper term is "backfeeding" That is connecting the generator directly to your panel, with no isolation means, and frying the lineman trying to restore your power. As stated DO consult a qualified electrician and your Authority Having Jurisdiction for proper installation of said UL-listed isolation device.
(I have been working on and repairing all sorts of generators and automatic/manual transfer switches for longer than I care to remember; at least since 1976. BUT, I am NOT a licensed electrician, so YMMV.)

This post was edited by zuhnc on 09/11/2022 at 09:38 pm.

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Thanks for all the info. There's all kinds of people out there, but I know not to energize the grid. The first step in my backfeed procedure is to open the main breaker. Eventually I will make a lockout that prevents it from being closed. At this time I'm the only one who could do that so the risk is lower than if I had more hands involved.

Your explanation about LP makes a lot of sense. I am thinking about replacing my 12KW gasoline powered generator and now would be the time to purchase a Tri Fuel. If the Winco Tri Fuel is as good as their gasoline portable, I'll probably go that direction.

I remember the LP powered vehicles of the 70-s and how clean the engine oil was. We run over 100 CNG powered heavy trucks. I've never thought to look at the waste oil because we change it out at regular intervals. Maybe I'll test a sample for the hell of it. It does use an additive package (different than the diesels) so it degrades the oil to some extent. I just never thought about how much carbon it leaves behind.

I don't bother with a generator in a 3-4 hour outage. Last time I ran a generator was back in February when the power was out overnight. Never plugged in the freezer or fridge. Nothing got warm or went bad.

I d find out what model the Miller welder is first
If it s an older model with a DC only generator it won t do you any work as a standby unit
The smallest late model I could find was a 6200 watt AC/DC generator that has 120 and 240 power

For the average non gram home owner a dual fuel unit would be the best option but which type would depend on what s available in your area, there s no natural gas available where I live so a NG/LP fueled generator would be a single fuel LP for me
Here for a standby generator the local gas suppliers will only install a 150 gallon LP tank, depending on the size of the generator that will get you 4-6 days of use before the tank empties out

A ice storm in 2009 left us without power for 10 days, we had a 4500 watt portable generator I connected to the house, it powered the lights, fridge, freezer, electric griddle for cooking and 1500 watt quartz heater, with selective use it would power the well pump or water heater but only only one at a time
The 4500 watt generator would burn 12-15 gallons of gas per 24 hours while our 75000 watt diesel generator powered 3 large poultry barns on 35 gallons of diesel per 24 hours
For my home a small diesel generator of around 6000 watts would be best, although higher priced a diesel unit will operate on half as much fuel as a gas unit of the same size, LP/NG units use more fuel than a gas powered unit, normally we ll have 400-800 gallons of diesel on hand versus a couple 5 gallon cans of gas